PALM BEACH, Fla. - Anthony Richard "Al" Marzelli was born in Bridgewater, Mass., June 26, 1907. He was the oldest son in a large Italian family; his parents Amato Marzelli and Columba (Calcagni) Marzelli had eight sons and three daughters. Al left Bridgewater as a relatively young man to explore the world, although he would return every year to pay his respects to his mother Columba and all his brothers and sisters.
He married a beautiful Irish girl, a schoolteacher, Catherine McKeon in 1943, the same year he moved to Tampa, Fla., to participate in the National Defense College.
After the war, he went to work for General Motors, one of the many men hired to help the company recharge the automobile industry in post war America. In contrast to todays automobile companies that compete fiercely with each other for customers, Al's biggest problem in 1946 was finding enough cars for his dealers to sell!
He and his family, by now Kay and Al had two daughters, lived first in Ohio and later in Michigan, New Jersey and finally back to Michigan.
Al continued his automotive career, with each step along the way taking him further from engineering and more into the sales and marketing arena.
By the time he retired, Al was a Vice President of the Chrysler Corporation in charge of the Export/Import division. Along the way, Al held prestigious positions with General Motors, Packard Motor Corporation and ultimately the Chrysler Corporation.
Kay and Al retired in 1975 to Harwich on Cape Cod, Mass., and spent their winter months in Palm Beach.
Al and Kay's grandchildren were the joy of their life: Christopher, Courtney, Heather, Lia and Gordon, were always visiting with Grandma and Poppa at the Cape or in Florida.
Each year Al & Kay spent the month of September in Rome, exploring the wonders of Italy. While on such a Rome trip, Al and his friends conceived the framework for an Italian Cultural Group in Palm Beach.
Shortly thereafter, Al's friend, Rev. Maestrini formed the Italian Cultural Group-II Circolo. Several years later, Al accepted the nomination of President of II Circolo.
Al and Kay worked tirelessly on their mission to make II Circolo the very best Italian Group in the U.S. Kay and Al were very happy working together and with their II Circolo friends. The hard efforts of all the members of II Circolo certainly paid off, over and over again, the organization doubled in size and II Circolo went on to fund scholarships at FAU, Dreyfus School of the Arts, the Palm Beach Opera and the Lake Worth Italian Studies program. After 16 years as President, in 2003, Al turned over the reigns of the Presidency and was honored as The Man of the Year for 2003 at a magnificent gala at the Breakers of Palm Beach.
In death, Al has returned to where he was always happiest: next to his beloved Catherine, his Irish bride, with her sparkling blue eyes.
Al is survived by his beloved daughters, Mary Fleming of London, England, and Jane Marzelli Smith of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; his grandchildren, Christopher, Courtney, Heather, Lia and Gordon. Also survived by several great-grandchildren, brothers, nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday in St. Thomas Aquinas Church. Burial will be in St. Thomas Aquinas Cemetery. Visiting hours omitted. Also, a memorial service will be held in Florida in the coming month.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Al Marzelli Italian Scholarship Fund, 00305 Kaden Lane, Boyne City, MI 49712.
Arrangements are by the Prophett Funeral Home, 98 Bedford St. (Rte. 18), Bridgewater.